The narrative contained in Surah Al-Fil (105: 1–5), known as the Surah of “The Elephant”, remains one of the most symbolic passages of the Qur’an when it comes to reflecting on power, arrogance and the historical limits of domination.

Far from being merely a religious episode, the Surah offers a powerful interpretative key for understanding cycles of the rise and decline of empires. Its central message is simple and incisive: no empire is invincible when it distances itself from justice.

According to Islamic tradition, the Yemeni governor Abraha marched against the Kaaba, in Mecca, leading an army that included elephants, the imposing instruments of war and the ultimate symbol of power at the time.

The campaign aimed to impose religious and political hegemony over the region. The outcome narrated in the Surah is well known: thousands of birds, the ababil, hurled small stones that defeated the invading army, transforming apparent military superiority into historical humiliation.

The lesson is that imperial arrogance carries within itself the seeds of its own ruin. This reading resonates directly with the present. The world is witnessing the erosion of an international order founded on the supremacy of a few and the........

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